Installing Pre-Nailed Tack Strip

Pre-nailed tack strip is used on fronts of outside arms or sides of outside backs of chairs and sofas where you want a tailored straight look. It is an alternative to using cardboard tack strip and blindstitching. Once you learn how to install it, it is a faster way of closing an outside arm or outside back.

Pre-Nailed Tack Strip

Above is a picture of a strip of pre-nailed tack strip. As you can see, it is a metal strip with prongs to push through the fabric.

Ours is 30 inches long and about 3/8" wide. It is easily cut with tin snips if we need it shorter.

Before metal tack strips, there were tacks strips made of cardboard with upholstery tacks. They were installed the same way.

When we are ready to hammer the fabric wrapped nail strip into the frame, we use a mallet. We have one face of this mallet wrapped with heavy fabric. This protects the furniture fabric from being dammaged. We use either a rawhide or wooden mallet for this purpose.